A Reality Not His Own
by Shadow Master
Summary: (BtVS/Superman/Marvel Movie-verse) A person can live their entire life and not know the truth of their existence. That was never more true than it was for Xander Harris as he looked down on the Sunnydale Crater. He thought he knew who he was, WHAT he was, but in truth he knew less than half of the truth. Want to know the rest?


"A Reality Not His Own" by Shadow Master

(BtVS/Superman/Marvel movie-verse)

email: ryley(underscore)breen

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material contained herein. They belong to their respective creators and associated companies. I make no profit off of this whatsoever. I write this because it's fun and because there are people out there who like reading my fan fiction stories. Therefore it would be greatly appreciated if the companies and creators would refrain from telling their lawyers to file a lawsuit against me. I can assure them that what they'd get from me wouldn't even cover a tenth of their legal fees. Also just to specify I do not own any element of the Marvel and DC comics universes and never will.

Note: This takes place in the Marvel Movie universe or Earth-199999 as it's referred to on the Marvel wiki website. Not the most accurate of sources I know but I also have all the relevant movies and can watch them whenever I like to be sure of the facts presented therein

_A Reality Not His Own_

_**The Southern Tunnel Exit of the Former S.H.I.E.L.D Joint Dark Energy Mission Installation**_

_**Evening, Director Nick Fury's POV**_

_I had a feeling it was going to be another one of those days. _he thought as he waited for Agent Coulson to pick him up.

Ever since he first received a call telling him that the tesseract was acting up, he knew that something out of the ordinary was going to happen and he'd taken all the steps he'd thought needed to be taken at the time. He'd ordered all Phase Two hardware and research materials moved off site as well as a full evacuation of all personnel as a countermeasure against one of many worst case scenarios that involved the complete destruction of the facility.

He'd gotten that part right but had not foreseen the unexpected arrival of an Asgardian by the name of Loki or the fact that the intruder would have the ability to co-opt those few agents present that were still in decent shape. Faced with impressive energy weaponry and the drastic shift in numbers, things had gone south quickly with him being knocked on his ass and the tesseract being stolen. Between him and Agent Hill, they'd both done the best they could with what they had but it hadn't been enough, leaving an alien device of world shattering power in hostile hands. Whether it was used as a power source or, as it had proven itself capable of, a method of transporting people across galactic distances, neither scenario was likely to be benevolent. Add to that the fact that Loki threatened invasion in order to rid the world of the 'lie of freedom' and it was pretty clear that he needed to up his game by a dozen or so notches.

He knew what he had to do and that was why he'd ordered Coulson to get the ball rolling by calling in Stark while Agent Romanov approached the foremost expert on gamma radiation to track down the cube. Personally he would've preferred to have Thor on their side since it only made sense to pit an Asgardian against an Asgardian but, according to the latest intelligence reports he'd read, the hammer-wielding alien wasn't available. The 'Bifrost Bridge' that the blonde man had mentioned previously had been seriously damaged or destroyed, making the likelihood of a surprise appearance unlikely.

The Avengers Initiative was based on a basic formula of members with each one providing an important skill set or attribute that strengthened the overall team. Rogers provided superhuman combat capabilities and could inspire the troops by words or deeds. Stark provided the Iron Man suit and one of the smartest scientific minds on the planet. Banner was mostly another scientific mind but, if things got dicey, the Hulk could also be brought into play. Prior to an hour ago, he'd also intended to add Agents Romanov and Barton to the team both because they were excellent soldiers as well as a means by which he could control the flow of sensitive information the team might encounter. Now, though, Barton was compromised and, given the potential size of the threat on the horizon, he was considering a move that was riskier in more ways than one.

Risky for his career and risky for the world but there was a chance that it could pay off in spades.

Twenty-two years ago a gift from above plummeted to Earth along with a bunch of space debris the latter of which wound up being scattered across the globe. S.H.I.E.L.D had been too late to pick up the main object but, twelve years ago, they managed to get it back. The eggheads down in the psycho-analytic engineering department had spent all the time since then trying to make the center of Project Arrival less of a threat and more of an asset. It had been a threat because it had been Hydra and their current leader, Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker, had beat them to the point of impact for the main mass of plummeting objects not of Earthly origin. S.H.I.E.L.D had been good but technological shortcomings plus bad luck had put them in second place in a race where the only acceptable prize was first place. It'd been the decision of the World Security Council and him that until Hydra's stink could be wiped off it was too dangerous to even consider letting the genie out of the bottle.

Now, though, he was considering taking a risk if only because the cost of losing was too damn high for his tastes.

He just hoped the experts had done a good enough job and that he wasn't dumping gasoline on an open fire.

Taking out his phone, he put it on the highest encryption it had and dialed the number for one of the top five most secure facilities S.H.I.E.L.D possessed, officially or unofficially. It didn't take long for a person at the other end to pick up and hoped the rest went by just as quickly because time was not on his side.

"Lovely weather we're having," the woman on the other end said in a casual manner.

"Yes, but I always remember to carry an umbrella," he said in response, remembering how it was all supposed to go.

"Yeah, you can't trust the weatherman, not in the summer," the woman said back at him without any change in her speech pattern.

"Good thing it'll be autumn soon, then." he said, speaking the final countersign phrase needed to verify his identity.

"Identity confirmed, Director Fury," the woman said promptly, taking on a professional military tone of voice. "What can I do for you?"

"I need you to prep the Project Arrival pod for transport to the helicarrier," he said as he spotted a chopper getting closer to his position. "Authorization code three eight one two alpha. Also be sure to bring all necessary materials required for deployment of the pod's occupant."

"Sir, you are aware that deployment of the occupant requires unanimous approval by the World Security Council," the woman said, shock clearly coming through in her words.

"I am quite aware of that and you'll have that approval upon arrival at the helicarrier. Carry out your orders, young lady," he said in a no nonsense tone of voice.

"Yes sir, Director Fury," the female agent said on the other end. "We'll begin preparations momentarily. ETA for arrival at the helicarrier, twelve hours."

"Good."

_Now I just have to come up with a convincing argument that'll persuade those desk jocks to back this play,_ he thought with a groan of annoyance. _I'd almost rather be the one to bring in Stark. He's so easy to play it almost isn't worth the effort._

As he began to walk towards the truck rolling towards him, though, he knew that as much as his conversation with them was going to stink he needed their support to deploy the occupant of the pod. It was hardwired into the thing and no trick he knew of would allow him to bypass that particular security measure in time, for it to matter.

"Problem, sir?" Coulson asked as he got into the truck.

"Ask me tomorrow," he replied before yelling at the driver. "Get me to the helicarrier ASAP, soldier."

The truck surged off to the nearest facility with a chopper he could commandeer. By his estimate he'd get there in four hours and that left him eight hours to come up with the best argument since the emergency electronic surveillance bill was put up for discussion.

This was one of the reasons he HATED his job.

_**S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier**_

_**Eleven Hours Later, Secure Communications Room, AAA Clearance Level Required**_

_**Director Nick Fury's POV**_

_Time to see if I'm really as good as I think I am._ He thought as he waited for the system to finish warming up the encryption programs and ensuring a secure connection to his superiors.

Ever since he'd returned to the helicarrier, he'd been balancing his time between looking for the tesseract and reaching out to the people scouted for the Avengers Initiative in the hopes that he could either prevent the coming invasion or get the necessary elements to win it into place. He'd already put every available asset he had on the task of finding the cube, both organic and technological, but so far not even a nibble had happened. He'd already received confirmation from Agent Romanov that Doctor Bruce Banner had agreed to come in and help them trace the weak gamma emissions that the tesseract gave off. He'd be on board within the hour, making it a good thing that he'd told the personnel involved in Project Arrival to ensure that the pod's contents were kept covered. The project was top secret for a reason and, even if he got permission to pop the hatch on it, there'd still be some prep time necessary in order to bring the occupant up to speed. Officially, according to the project leader, prep time was supposed to take the better part of four months, if not longer, but they didn't have that kind of time.

"Connection established. Triple A encryption online and fully functional," the electronic voice of the system declared as the shadowed faces of the Council appeared at the same time.

"Director Fury, it is good that you decided to contact us at this time," spoke the sole woman on the Council. "We've been informed that you've ordered Project Arrival moved to the helicarrier with the necessary elements needed to deploy it. We also know that you'd begun to recruit the… civilians listed in the Avengers Initiative. Would you to explain your actions?"

"Approximately thirteen hours ago I was contacted by Doctor Selvig that the Cube, also known as the tesseract, was beginning to show signs of increasing activity. Concerned, I immediately went to the facility and en route ordered the evacuation of all personnel, as well as all Phase 2 materials as a precaution against the worst case scenario," he explained, ordering the events that occurred as well the reasons behind his actions. "When I arrived at the main lab, I was informed of the details of the buildup, as well as the fact that shutting it down was impossible. Immediately afterwards an increase in Cube activity was detected and following that an Asgardian calling himself Loki appeared in the room as a result of the tesseract discharging. Loki was ordered to stand down but refused and successfully managed to draw first blood.

"He then used a spear of alien manufacture to somehow co-opt Selvig, Agent Barton and two other agents. Facing unfavorable odds, I attempted to leave the facility with the Cube but was stopped by Agent Barton before I made it two steps. I was shot, saved only by my Kevlar vest, and by the time I recovered they were already on the move. Agent Hill and I attempted to stop them but we were caught unprepared," he said as he continued to summarize what had happened. "Once contact was lost with their vehicle, I ordered both Agent Coulson and Agent Romanov to begin bringing in Stark and Banner and I have already notified Captain Rogers of the situation."

"And what situation would that be?" spoke the man on the screen to his right.

"Based on what Loki said during our talk in the tesseract lab, I have every reason to believe that he intends to use the Cube to bring an alien force to Earth as part of an invasion," he replied before looking each of them in the eye. "It has already proven itself capable of transporting living things galactic distances. With the right power source and the right location, I believe it's very likely that he can make good on his threat. That is why I'm gathering the Avengers and that is why I ordered that pod and all the materials necessary to deploy the occupant be brought to the helicarrier."

"This is out of line, Director," spoke the second male member of the Council. "You're dealing with forces you can't control."

"You ever been in a war, Councilman?" he asked rhetorically as he looked at the man. "In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control?"

"You're certain that war is this Asgard's intention?" the second man on the Council asked him with skepticism.

"Not Asgard as a whole. Just Loki and the forces he's managed to gather," he replied, correcting the man on a very important fact.

"He can't be working alone," the sole lady on the Council stated with certainty and suspicion. "What about the other one? His brother?"

"Our intelligence says Thor's not a hostile," he replied, confident in the information his experts had managed to gather. "But he's worlds away and we can't depend on him for help. It's up to us."

"Which is why you should be focusing on Phase 2. It was designed for exactly—" the second Councilman began to say before being interrupted.

"Phase 2 isn't ready and our enemy is," he pointed out before anything more could be said. "We need a response team."

"The Avengers Initiative was shut down and the subject of Project Arrival is still years away from being reliable," Councilman #2 pointed out as a counterattack.

"This isn't about the Avengers," he said trying to get them to focus on the important information.

"We've seen the list" a Councilman that had up until then been silent said with disapproval.

"You're the director of the world's greatest security network and you're leaving the fate of the world in the hands of a bunch of freaks and a potential time bomb," the second Councilman said, making it clear his respect was circling the drain.

"I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team," he reiterated, hoping that they'd eventually wise up. "These people may be isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need."

"You believe?" the woman asked, sounding like she was expecting something more definite.

"Wars aren't won with sentiment, Director," the second Councilman stated making his position clear.

"No, it's won by soldiers," he said, referring to his own firsthand experience on the matter.

"How does Project Arrival fit into this Fury?" asked one of the only Council members he believed was actually reasonable.

_Here we go._ He thought as be brought up his prepared argument in his mind.

"When the Avengers Initiative was first conceived, there were several individuals on the primary list before it was shut down. Iron Man, The Hulk, Agent Romanov and Agent Barton were the ones to make the cuts prior to it all being shut down," he replied as he went on the offensive with both words and body language. "When Captain Rogers was found alive and Thor offered his assistance, I added them to the short list of members and I was satisfied with the lineup. Now, however, Thor is out of reach and Barton has been compromised, leaving the Avengers shorthanded and underpowered. I believe the pod's occupant can fill the void left behind nicely."

"It's too much of a risk," the Councilwoman said, firmly against the idea. "I agree with my colleague that it's still far too early to release the occupant from its pod. They've made good progress neutralizing Hydra's conditioning but it's still a long way from being under our complete control."

"I realize that this is a bit of a risk but considering the threat to the planet that we now face, I believe it is a risk worth taking," he said, not backing down in the least. "The reports from Project Arrival say that the subject possesses a satisfactory sense of right and wrong as well basic boot camp conditioning. I am confident that once made aware of the situation, he'll do the right thing."

"And have you considered what might happen if Hydra makes a move to reclaim what they once possessed?" the second Councilman asked with little respect. "Once they realize that it's out of the pod and that it's possible to lure it out with the right incentive, they will almost certainly commit considerable resources to get it back. There may be programming in its mind that hasn't even been thought of yet, much less countered!"

"This isn't my first day on the job, Councilman," he said, glaring at the man daring him to say more. "I was fighting Hydra when you were working up the courage to ask your first girlfriend to the high school dance. I am well aware of what will happen when key figure of Project Arrival makes his public debut and I've already begun working on a way to counter their tactics."

He hadn't meant to snap at the man, not really, but he was getting tired of being treated like he wasn't qualified for his job and didn't know what he was doing.

"This is the bottom line: we have an army of hostile aliens preparing to descend on this planet and if they're even half as powerful as the Asgard, then we will need every deployable asset ready for use." He said this in a way that brooked no interruptions and, thankfully, he got none. "You've seen what the lab coats have predicted the subject's upper limits to be and, with Thor unavailable, he's the next best thing. If he goes AWOL, if he puts on green and yellow pajamas, we both know there's a permanent way to put him down."

Looking at them all, he did his best convey with his face that he was willing to take complete responsibility for releasing the center of Project Arrival and terminating it if it became a clear and present threat to the planet. For several minutes they looked at each other through their individual screens, seemingly communicating with each other using only body language but at the end of five minutes they apparently reached a decision.

"Very well, Director Fury. We approve deployment of Project Arrival and we will allow you to handle the current situation as you see fit," the Councilwoman said in a no nonsense tone of voice. "For now."

With that the connections to the various members of the World Security Council were terminated, leaving him looking at dark screens. Silently he thanked whatever higher being had helped him just now to get his superiors to see things from his point of view.

_One hurdle down and several more to go,_ he thought as he turned to leave for the room set aside from Project Arrival. _Time to get a firsthand look at one of my gambits._

_**The Edge of the Crater That had Once Been Sunnydale, California**_

_**Early Afternoon, Xander's POV**_

"So, did you see?" he asked Andrew as he got off of the bus that had been their escape vehicle.

The blonde geek looked worse than most of them and, given that the guy wasn't really a fighter, that wasn't surprising.

"I-I was scared. I'm sorry," Andrew replied, not looking up from the ground.

"Did you see what happened? I mean, was she…" he pressed, needing to know more than anything what happened to Anya.

It had been chaos as they'd left the high school and all he'd been able to focus on in his state was getting to the bus just like they'd planned. He hadn't been thrilled about his past and potential future girlfriend being paired with a weak combatant like Andrew but they'd been shorthanded as it was, so he'd accepted it. Now he needed to know what had happened to her even as a part of himself that he refused to listen to told him the most likely scenario.

"She was incredible. She died saving my life," Andrew said finally rising to look him in the eye.

Putting a comforting hand on the short guy's shoulder he said "That's my girl. Always doing the stupid thing."

Looking about, he tried to find anything to distract him from the pain, to keep the grief at bay, and found Buffy approaching the edge of the crater. Deciding that joining what was a senior Scooby meeting in the making was a good option, he moved to reach her at the edge even as the rest of the Scoobies did the same.

"Looks like the hellmouth is officially closed for business," Faith remarked with a half-hearted quip at their situation.

"There is another one in Cleveland," Giles said before tossing a rock into the crater. "Not to spoil the moment."

"We saved the world," he said in a way that implied that they'd pulled off a whole new level of world save-age with this one.

"We changed the world," Willow said with a bit of awe in her voice. "I can feel them, Buffy. All over. Slayers are awakening everywhere."

"We'll have to find them," Dawn said immediately, pointing out their responsibility to the girls whose lives they'd changed.

"We will," Willow said, supporting what their next job would be after they'd recovered from all this.

"Yes, because the mall was actually in Sunnydale, so there's no hope of going there tomorrow," Giles said before beginning to pace a bit.

"We destroyed the mall?" Dawn asked in mock shock. "I fought on the wrong side."

"All those shops gone. The Gap, Starbucks, Toys R Us," he said, joining in on the bit of ridiculousness. "Who will remember all those landmarks unless we tell the world about them?"

"We have a lot of work ahead of us." Giles said, conveying the gravity of their situation.

"Can I push him in?" Faith asked Willow with perfect seriousness.

"You've got my vote." Willow replied with complete agreement.

"I just want to sleep, yo, for like a week." Faith said with fatigue on her face.

"I guess we all could, if we wanted to," Dawn said, beginning to realize the full ramifications of their actions.

"Yeah," Willow said with a smile on her face. "The First is scrunched, so…what do you think we should do, Buffy?"

"Yeah, you're not the one and only Chosen anymore," Faith said, causing the rest to look at their unofficial leader. "Just gotta live like a person. How's that feel?"

"Yeah, Buffy. What are we gonna do now?" Dawn asked looking to her older sister for guidance.

Opening his mouth he was about to put forth a couple of ideas that he believed were worth considering when suddenly everything seemed to freeze around him. It was like someone had hit the pause button on the universe, leaving only him still able to move and at once he feared that perhaps there'd been some unforeseen consequences to what had transpired in Sunnydale. Moving as quickly as he was able, he began to look at each of his friends in turn hoping to figure out what was going on and how he could undo it. However, just as he was about to move to look at Faith, his mobility was taken from him as well, leaving only his senses to take in the world around him. Fear began to spike within him as his mind produced numerous horrible possibilities that he was unable to do anything to prevent thanks to whatever was going on.

It was just as his mind was about to lose what little composure he had left that things went in an even weirder direction than they normally did. All at once his five senses seemed to fade away while his consciousness remained unaffected but, the moment the basic five finished disappearing, a wave of vertigo hit him hard enough to send him reeling. If he'd been able to move he'd be on his back at the moment but since that wasn't the case all he could do was ride out the disorientation and hope it passed sooner rather than later.

When he began to regain coherency of thought, his senses began to return as well but it was most definitely NOT the same sort of input he'd had prior to all the weirdness. His sense of touch informed him that not only was he missing everything but his boxers but he was completely submerged in some kind of liquid that definitely wasn't normal water. He could also feel a lot of those suction cup things they put on you in the hospital to monitor your vitals and run tests and some kind of diver's mask that was providing him with oxygen. Even though there was a slice of glass or plastic or something that let him see where he was a bit, everything was foggy like the liquid was halfway between water and Pepsi. He could see people moving about and, judging from the large patches of white some of them were wearing, he was betting that some of them were scientists of some kind.

Not good. He'd seen enough movies to know that when you black out in one place and wake up in one of these places, the odds were pretty good that you'd been selected as a lab rat of some kind. He could also see a couple of people wearing dark clothing but he figured those were probably the guards whose job it was to capture or terminate any lab rats who got a little too uppity. Whatever the case, his first instinct was to try and break out of this but his past experience at being a captive told him that that would be a bad idea while there were so many people around. Last he checked, he wasn't bulletproof and running around a military facility in nothing but a pair of boxers was definitely not something he was desperate enough to try doing just yet. Maybe later, assuming they didn't knock him out, he could try to make a break for it when there were only a couple of people in the room but for now he'd be a nice little specimen.

He began to question the decision almost immediately, when from the sides of the tube he was stuck in, four panels slid into place with only two or three inches of open space between each of them. He began to worry when he noticed each of the panels beginning to emit a soft light and seriously hoped this wasn't a prelude to 'terminating the experiment' and that's when it hit him: the brightest dosage of light he'd ever been exposed to in his life.

Reflexively he closed his eyes and waited for the pain of 'termination' to hit him but then reality took a left turn he never saw coming. Instead of pain, he began to feel… invigorated, not quite like a heavy sugar pick me up but his body still felt more alive than it had a couple of minutes ago. The bright light didn't stay on for more than a few minutes before the lab people shut it off and, when it vanished, the panels slid away to someplace behind him that he couldn't see. He was almost sorry to see it go but then the liquid began to drain out of the tube he was in and, instead of floating in it like he had been, he now had to stand under his own power. Looking at the people that were no longer obscured by the liquid, he saw soldiers that obviously screamed military as well as scientists that weighed in heavy on people G-Man's age with only two somewhat attractive ladies in the bunch. Not that he expected otherwise, what with most scientists not being hired for their looks but instead being hired for their brains.

_Okay, so I won't be making a run for it just yet but I'm definitely getting this mask off._ he thought, growing a bit edgy due to the lack of action.

Reaching up with his own hands, he pulled the mask off and, to his surprise, the straps on the thing snapped not even a second later. Looking at the combo of plastic, metal and glass, he had to wonder at the quality of the stuff if it fell apart so easily but he decided it didn't really matter, so he let it drop from his hand. Diverting only a minimal amount of concentration to removing all the suction cups and sensors, he kept most of his focus on the people around him.

"O-kay…" he tried to say, only to find his throat seriously dry and weak. Almost like it had never been used before.

"Easy, Xander," said an elderly looking scientist with a grandfatherly aura about him. "As you've probably figured out, you haven't spoken in a… very long time. The muscles and such aren't used to the action anymore so we'll need to ease into this. Someone get him a glass of water!"

He was about to say more when he noticed something that had slipped right by him when he'd gotten his senses back in the tube: he had depth perception again! Reflexively he reached up with his left hand and immediately he received confirmation as he could see his hand clear as day on what should be his blind side. Feeling around his left eye almost frantically in order to ensure that it wasn't some sort of illusion or trick, he soon came to the inescapable conclusion that it was the real deal.

This almost made up for the fact that he'd likely been abducted and experimented on for what could've been a real long time.

Whatever the case, he needed some answers and since speaking was out of the question for the time being, he grabbed a pen out of the Prof Grandpa's coat as well as a sheet of paper that was close by. He was about to start writing when all of a sudden the pen snapped in two in his hands, leaving him wondering just what kind of shape he had to be in with people who obviously didn't buy quality stuff. Looking back at them, he only got more worried when, on more than one face, there was a look that made him think he'd done something out of the ordinary for them. Maybe the pen he'd grabbed had been the only dud of the bunch or something?

_Gotta make do with what I got._ He thought as he used the broken pen to write his question on the piece of paper.

**Where am I? Who Are you?**

He handed the piece of paper to the scientist and hoped he'd get at least these answers, even though what he really wanted to ask was 'where the hell are my friends and what the hell have you done to me?' He figured if he could get some of the more basic questions out of the way, he might be able to piece together the rest on his own since he doubted these military guys were going to be all that forthcoming with the details.

"It's a long story, Xander, and definitely one that should be told when you're a little more together," an African American guy with an eye patch replied, clearly the guy in charge of the whole thing. "Someone get this guy some clothes and then escort him to briefing room three."

With that the man with the command attitude strode out of the room with his black coat billowing a bit behind him like a cape. While he was a bit annoyed at the sudden departure, he did have to admit that he'd feel a lot better about his present situation wearing something more than black boxer shorts.

He might have been used to walking around Californian beaches in swimming trunks but he'd prefer something a little more concealing when he was the center of attention.

_**Briefing Room Three, Twenty Minutes Later, Agent Phil Coulson's POV**_

_This is not going to be a pleasant conversation._ He thought as he sat down next to a steel table opposite the young man named Alexander Harris. _However the Colonel's orders are the Colonel's orders. Personally, though, I'd prefer to be the one working with Banner and Rogers at the moment. Hell, I'd prefer to be dealing with Ross at the moment!_

"Do the clothes fit you okay?" he asked, looking at the young man in the standard S.H.I.E.L.D fatigues.

"Yeah…uh…went through two shirts and three pants before I managed to put them on without them ripping, but they fit okay," Alexander replied, glancing every once and awhile at his clothes as though they'd rip spontaneously. "I think you guys need to see about buying from a different company, 'cause whoever makes this stuff for you is seriously cheaping on the materials."

"I'm afraid it's a little more complicated than that," he said, knowing the real reason why the kid seemed to be breaking things fairly easily. "The clothes are quality. The reason everything is snapping on you is because…well, you're quite a bit stronger than you used to be."

Indeed, when he'd entered the room set aside for Project Arrival, the scientist in charge, a Doctor Emil Robertson, had given them a brief summary of the project as well as what they'd discovered about 'Alexander Harris'. It had been a bit of a surprise, even considering the sort of things he'd encountered since he officially became a S.H.I.E.L.D agent and, later, one of Colonel Fury's most trusted subordinates. It'd only gotten worse once Robertson described the results of several tests they conducted while Xander was locked in the neurogenic virtual reality system. According to the doctor, there was a good chance that the college aged kid sitting across from him would one day have a level of strength and durability on the same level as the Hulk. The key, apparently, was exposure to the light from Earth's sun as the kid's body absorbed it like a battery taking in a charge and then used that energy to strengthen itself. It was one of the reasons why they'd given him a concentrated dosage before letting him out of the tube a little over twenty minutes ago. For pretty much the entirety of the young man's stay on this planet, he'd been kept in the tube suspended in a solution designed to feed him nutrients through his skin. For a human, that much time without activity would lead to the muscles atrophying and nutrients administered to the body through the skin might keep a person alive but it did nothing for the muscles or anything else gained through activity. According to Doctor Robertson, exposing Alexander to a concentrated dosage of solar energy would cause the body to repair the damage at a seriously accelerated rate.

That had turned out to be something of an understatement.

When the young man had been bathed in solar energy for those couple of seconds, what he saw reminded him of some of the descriptions of Captain Rogers' transformation as the man underwent the Super Soldier process. A body that looked frail, malnourished and unimpressive changed in a matter of seconds to a physique you'd expect from a professional athlete. Alexander's ability to speak returned about five minutes prior as his throat and vocal chords finished healing, which would allow this… debriefing to take place.

"How much stronger?" Xander asked, sounding quite unconvinced.

"Well, it's never been officially tested. You've been inside that pod pretty much all your life," he replied, bracing himself for a violent emotional outburst.

"All my life? What're you talking about?" Xander asked, like he was speaking with a crazy man. "I looked at myself in the mirror when I was changing. Aside from me being plus one eye, I'm the same age I've always been, so I couldn't have been in that pod for more than a year or two."

"I'm afraid that your memories… aren't real. They were all part of an advanced neurogenic virtual reality system that you've been hooked up to since you were a baby," he said, trying his best to phrase things just right.

"Wha-? What the hell are you talking about?" Xander asked, sounding increasingly distressed.

_I wish Director Fury hadn't insisted on the honest truth with this,_ he thought as he imagined how bad things could get. _I come up with cover stories in my sleep. I'm sure I could've come up with a story that'd let the kid on the crucial details without causing him to freak out._

The only comforting thing about this was that according to Doctor Robertson the solar bombardment only put Xander's strength at roughly half of Iron Man's armor. While still powerful enough to do some damage, it'd be preferable to, say, strength equal to the Hulk's since the latter could easily take down the entire carrier. Plus, if the young man's durability matched his strength, then if things took a turn for the worse security would be able to deal with him using some of their higher caliber rounds.

"Perhaps it'd be best if we began at the beginning," he said before activating the holographic emitters built into the table. "Twenty-two years ago our satellites picked up a large number of objects on a direct course for Earth. Our technology wasn't very advanced at the time but it did determine that there was a spacecraft of unknown origin mixed in with some rock. After it was determined that none of it would hit populated areas, it was allowed to make planet fall.

"A retrieval team was sent out to the impact point of the spacecraft however, when they got there, the signs of the ship were there but the ship itself was missing." Images of the crash site appeared holographically in the air, "An investigation of the surrounding area revealed that a terrorist organization known as Hydra, a leftover of Hitler's Nazi regime, had gotten to the ship before us. We attempted to find the alien spacecraft and dedicated almost a full year to the search but nothing ever turned up. It wasn't until about ten years ago during a raid on a Hydra facility that we found the ship as well as its occupant. You.

"Hydra put up a good fight but we were able to get just about all of the material connected to the spacecraft. What we were able to learn in the first few months was something of an eye opener," he said as the images being displayed changed. "You apparently come from a planet fifty light years from Earth orbiting a red sun. Hydra determined from the files aboard the ship that the planet's name was Krypton. They managed to get quite a bit out of your ship but their main focus was you. From their files, it was only a chance exposure to solar radiation that kept you off the dissection table because it showed them that sunlight had a unique effect on your physiology.

"Superhuman strength and durability were the most obvious ones but their tests indicated that those two were just the tip of the iceberg. They attempted to accelerate your growth to full adulthood but none of their usual methods had any effect on your Kryptonian physiology. As a result they decided to go a different route and do things more long term in nature," he said as the dazed and stunned look never left the young man's face. "While you aged naturally, they'd subject you to their own version of the neurogenic virtual reality system, submerging you into a life designed by them down to the smallest detail. The idea was to mold you mentally into someone who'd work for them and not particularly care about things like right or wrong."

"But I had friends…Willow…and Jesse…!" Alexander blurted out, most likely trying to grasp at anything to refute what he was being told.

"According to the scenario database attached to the system, their purpose was to establish a strong emotional connection with you and then betray you during your final year of high school. It was apparently their intention to ensure that you wouldn't trust in anyone but them by the end of your 'programming'," he said as gently as he could. "Ten years ago when we found you, we looked into erasing the damage they'd done but it was concluded that trying would do more harm than good. Instead we tried to work with the base that Hydra provided. We introduced 'episodes', I suppose you could say, that would strengthen your feelings of friendship and loyalty as well as ensure you had an acceptable sense of morality."

"Why then did Jesse…?" Alexander asked, his voice breaking before he could finish the question.

"While Director Fury was content with simply ensuring that you wouldn't become a threat and would successfully integrate into society, the World Security Council wanted something more. They wanted a super powered operative that they could send against the threats too dangerous for even elite agents to handle." He had been hoping this was one landmine topic that wouldn't blow up in his face. "To that end, they introduced demons, vampires and magic users as substitutes for aliens, people with superhuman abilities and advanced weapon systems. They also created a scenario that'd ensure that you'd have a personal stake in opposing such beings by introducing a friend whose Calling made her fight them as well as having one of your friends die at their hands."

"Why did they use demons if they wanted me to fight super villains and robots?"

"I didn't get the whole story but apparently the members of the Council didn't want to take the chance that you might sympathize with the people they sent you against. By making you fight things that were distinctly not human or irredeemably evil, they figured you'd be less likely to question killing them," he replied, hoping this increase in interactivity was a good thing. "History shows that a person has much less difficulty killing a monster or an animal than they would someone they could relate to. Plus, if Director Fury's comments are anything to go by, more than one of the Council members has religious leanings along with a dislike of anything not one hundred percent human."

"But Giles always told us that not all demons are evil," Alexander pointed out as though trying to work through the logic of the information. "And Oz was a werewolf. Willow was a witch."

"That was Director Fury's doing. Unlike the Council, he has a more…realistic…view of the world. He prefers to leave his mind open to the possibility that the people he meets could be allies but makes sure he's ready if that's not the case," he explained, remembering that part of the files he'd read. "He likely wanted you to do the same."

"But if I was stuck in some kinda high tech video game, then how come I could feel pain? Why did I lose my eye?" Xander asked, finding flaws and putting them to use.

"Doctor Robertson was instructed by the Council to make the virtual world you lived in as realistic as possible. They felt that if they spared you from pain, discomfort and everything else that comes with 'reality', you'd figure out that it wasn't real and their efforts would be for nothing." He remembered Fury coming out of the communications room in a particularly bad mood a few times, "As for your eye. that was worked into the scenario when a malfunction in your pod caused damage to the mask you wore. It was unplanned and so they rendered you unconscious as quickly as they could and then came up with the cover story when you 'woke back up'."

Naturally Director Fury had suspicions about the so-called 'malfunction' but, last he heard, nothing concrete had been found. Seeing that the young man had no further questions for the moment, he decided that it was time to get to the more immediate issue of why he'd been woken up.

"The reason we brought you out of the system is because we're facing a worldwide crisis. An alien that we believe to be the source of the Norse myth about the god Loki has arrived on Earth and implied that an invasion is in the making." He brought up the images of the tesseract theft, "Given the fact that the Cube has proven capable of transporting people galactic distances and is currently at an unknown location. we're taking the threat very seriously."

"What do you expect me to do about it?" Alexander asked with an unidentifiable look in his eyes.

"We'd like you to work with a group of similarly exceptional people to stand against the invasion. Everything we know suggests that this army will be armed with technology far superior to anything we have at our disposal." he replied honestly while impressing the severity of the situation. "However you and the others working as a team might just be enough to defeat them. As powerful as you are right now, with a longer period of exposure to concentrated sunlight, you could easily become the strongest member of the team. Will you help us?"

Silence.

This could have been either a very good thing or a very bad thing.

If this silence meant that Alexander was thinking about helping them then that gave him room to work with and Colonel Fury had already given him some bargaining chips to work with. Things like a promise to establish a civilian identity for the young man so he could have a little freedom to explore the somewhat new world the kid now found himself in. Sure, the World Security Council would likely insist that the young man be kept under surveillance and be required to check in daily but that wasn't all that unreasonable. After all, with as much power as Alexander Harris might be getting and perhaps would one day gain on his own, it'd be foolish of the Director not to keep tabs on the kid. Plus better to have to clock in every day while living a relatively normal life than to be locked up in some containment unit until the people with the keys have a job for you to do. Personally he knew of a few non-top secret pieces of equipment that they could loan the kid if he wanted to do the whole secret identity bit. S.H.I.E.L.D was nothing if not inventive when it came to concealing the true identities of its agents using a variety of technology or disguise techniques.

It was then though that the young man looked up from the table where his eyes had been while pondering the question and instantly he felt himself bring his guard up. The eyes that looked back at him were not the eyes of a civilian who'd be happy to do what they could to help his world. They weren't even the eyes of someone who needed more time to think things over.

They were the eyes of someone who was about to become irrationally angry.

"Let me see if I've got this straight," Xander said with a dangerous tone to his voice. "You tell me I'm a FUCKIN' alien from outer space, you say my entire life has been one big videogame with you or those Hydra guys writing the script and now you expect me to fight a WAR for you. Does that about sum it up?"

"Those are the broad strokes, yes," he replied, hoping this was one of those so-called 'psych' moments.

"FUCK YOU!" Alexander yelled before slamming his fist down on the table, shattering the holographic system and causing the center of the table to touch the floor.

Before he could do or say anything to try and calm the super powered young man down, something he had not been prepared for happened. In a blur of motion Alexander Harris disappeared from the room, leaving the door embedded in the wall and the guards just outside on their asses more than a little disoriented.

"Huh. Super speed," he said, feeling a little shocked at what he'd witnessed. "Director Fury will want to know about this."

_**S.H.I.E.L.D Heli-Carrier, The Bridge, Director Nick Fury's POV**_

"All engines operating. S.H.I.E.L.D emergency protocol one nine three point six in effect," Agent Hill said before turning to face him. "We're at level sir."

"Good. Let's vanish."

"Engaging light refraction panels now." Agent Hill confirmed as she typed the necessary command into her console.

He was just about to turn around and begin speaking to both Rogers and Banner who had just entered the room when his communications earpiece beeped twice in a tone that implied the matter was urgent. Deciding he couldn't afford to miss anything, he reached up and pressed the button on the earpiece connecting him to whoever was trying to contact him. "Yes?"

"Director Fury, I've just finished my debriefing of Alexander and he didn't take it well." Agent Coulson said through the earpiece, sounding a bit uneasy.

"Did you mention that we intend to do everything we can to help him establish a civilian life on Earth and that if he doesn't help us, he won't have a world to live on?" he asked, believing that either the carrot or the stick would get the alien boy to get in line with the rest of the Avengers.

"I didn't get the chance, sir. After I told him the entire truth of his past and the current crisis, he got rather upset and left the room faster than I could see." Agent Coulson replied still, sounding mostly professional.

"Faster than you could see?" he asked, hoping his most reliable agent would clarify things more.

"Fast enough to be barely a blur and get out of my line of sight inside of two seconds," Coulson clarified with a brief pause. "He also slammed his fist down onto the table hard enough to break it in two."

_Super speed and strength roughly where we figured it'd be, _he thought, filing away this new piece of information. _Almost makes me wonder what else he can do._

Still, it wouldn't do for him to have a super powered and upset alien running about the helicarrier since he knew that the Council had informants among his people to keep up to date on his actions. He needed at least to APPEAR to have things under control or else those politicians would request another meeting and he didn't have near enough time for that.

"Search the carrier. We're airborne now so unless he can fly or swim a couple of hundred miles to shore, he's not leaving this ship," he ordered before deciding to add some stipulations. "Do not make contact with him or let him know you're there. Just find out where he is and when you do find him let me know where he is. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. Coulson out." Phil said before severing the communications link.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" Rogers asked like the World War Two soldier he was.

"Nothing that you need to worry about just yet," he said deciding not to give out more information than he had to. "Just a problem with a potential recruit."

Seeing that Rogers wasn't going to press matters, he approached the man who needed reassurances in order to keep the current situation from going FUBAR.

"Doctor Banner, thank you for coming," he said, extending a hand in the hopes that it'd be shook.

"Thanks for asking nicely," Banner said tentatively while looking like he was expecting to be attacked at any moment. "So…um…how long am I staying?"

"Once we get our hands on the tesseract, you're in the wind," he replied honestly even though he knew that the Council would likely prefer Banner be imprisoned. Fortunately he was smarter than they were and had no intention of doing what they'd prefer.

"Where are you with that?" Bruce asked before heading over to the consoles on the left side of the room.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera in the world," Agent Hill replied since she'd taken temporary control of Coulson's duties until Harris was on board or dealt with. "Doesn't matter if it's a cell phone or a laptop. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

"It's still not going to find them in time," Agent Romanov said from a crouched position next to a screen with Barton's face on it.

"You have to narrow your field," Banner said, the gears in his head beginning to turn. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?" he asked rhetorically, making it clear he could get access to all of them without much difficulty.

"Call every lab you know of. Tell them to get their spectrometers onto the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays," Doctor Banner said as he took off his coat. "I'll rough out a tracking algorithm with basic cluster recognition. At least we can rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

"Agent Romanov? Would you please show Doctor Banner to his lab, please?" he asked even though he knew the redhead would recognize it for the order it was.

"You're going to love it, Doc," Natasha said as she passed him. "We've got all the toys."

Not the joke most people would think it was because, thanks to government funding, the helicarrier really was the best equipped mobile law enforcement headquarters on the planet. The only problem with that was that because they had all the best toys and guns, the World Security Council expected the best results and got pissy when things turned out less than the best.

With that matter settled his thoughts turned back to the matter of Alexander Harris and where the young alien man had gotten off to. He knew it wouldn't take long for Coulson to find the kid since just about everyone would notice a blue blur going past them, as well as doors opening seemingly on their own. The question was how was he going to get the young man to calm down enough to discuss his situation rationally AND hopefully agree to work with Rogers and the others to stop Loki's impending invasion. Right now he imagined that the kid was feeling lost, displaced and none too happy with the fact that people he didn't know had essentially been manipulating him all his life. If that was indeed the case, then the best way to get him on board was to establish a connection between him and the real world while letting him know that his choices were always his own. All they had done was control the environment he'd been living in for the last twenty-two years. Even with the tech they had available, it was impossible for them to force him to see things certain ways or to make the choices they thought he should make.

Xander had made his choices all on his own with his own judgment and his own moral code.

If he had to he'd go a bit further and let the young man know that with the exception of mutants, Hydra and a few other potential landmines his VR world was a complete match for the real world.

_I seriously hope I haven't made a mistake with this kid. _He thought just before his earpiece beeped again, causing him to automatically accept the connection with the press of a button. "Yes?" he asked, hoping it was indeed Coulson on the other side of the line.

"We found him. Deck Six. Cargo room nine." Coulson said through the communications link.

He had to grin a bit at the speed and efficiency that his agent had shown in locating the temporarily lost asset.

"Keep the room and the hallway outside it clear of traffic," he ordered before changing his mind mid-thought, "Let's let him cool down a bit. I'll talk to him myself in three hours."

Some might think that was giving the kid a bit too much time but he wanted to give the young man as much time as he could to sort through his thoughts. Approaching the kid while he was still upset would only make things worse but giving Xander time to work through some of it on his own would make any discussion they had with each other go much smoother.

He hoped.

_**S.H.I.E.L.D Heli-Carrier, Deck Six, Cargo Room Nine, Three Hours Later, Xander's POV**_

'What the hell am I going to do?'

That was the question he'd been trying to find an answer to for the last hour and a half, since it'd only been since then that he'd calmed down enough to really think about the mess he was in. He was still pissed at these army guys for what they'd done to him, for the info they'd dumped on him without any kind of warning WHATSOEVER, but once he'd gotten over it mostly he knew that getting angry didn't change anything. The world he'd known was still stored on some computer's hard drive, he was still an alien (boy, wasn't that unexpected) and, if the bald guy was right, there probably was an invasion on the way.

It was just all so much for him to take in.

Hearing the door to the room open, he didn't turn his head since he figured it was probably that Coulson guy with another attempt to get him to fight off an invasion along with some other guys. He… he didn't know how he could even begin to help with something like that. Everything he thought he knew was all so much fiction and that meant probably all the ideas he could come up with wouldn't work in the 'real world'. Plus everything he knew about fighting the good fight usually involved stopping the army from setting foot on the planet not dealing with the legions of baddies after they'd already set foot on terra firma. Sure, it registered in some part of his mind that he'd destroyed a table with one arm without even intending to and somehow moved so fast the people around him turned into statues, but that didn't make the idea of him fighting an army any more possible.

Like most guys his age, he'd heard about war and played videogames that were based on war but he'd never really been IN a war. The closest he'd come was… was the battle with the First just hours ago and even then he hadn't been on the front lines of that battle. He'd been one of the people whose only duty was to take care of any stragglers and make sure no super vamps managed to get past them. Somehow he got the impression that these military guys wanted him to be one of the people spearheading the defense of the planet rather than someone running support jobs. Looking down at the hand that still grasped the handle of the door he'd yanked open after his initial outburst, he saw the impressions he'd made in the metal and, when he adjusted his grip, he watched as his fingers made more. To his mind he wasn't putting any more effort in creating the impressions than he would kneading a hand full of soft clay, but to deform metal like this he should've needed a hammer.

Was this some freaky type of dream? Was he under some kind of spell? It'd take a load off of his mind if he was but he'd always had a knack for seeing through to the truth and his instincts were telling him this was all VERY real.

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" came the voice of the guy he'd pegged as the Picard of whatever ship he was on.

"Anyone ever tell you you're a master of understatement?" he asked with more levity than he actually felt at the moment.

"A few," replied the guy with the eye patch as he took a seat on the same crate as him. "Sad thing is that I'm usually exactly right. I actually look forward to the times when things aren't as bad as I think they are."

"Pessimist?" he asked, turning his head slightly.

"Realist. In my line of work, being wrong usually means people die and that generally doesn't look good on the yearly performance review," the African American replied matching his gaze.

"Heh, I guess it wouldn't," he chuckled after giving it some thought.

"So, after all the thinking you've probably been doing, do you have any questions?" the boss man asked, moving the conversation along.

"Yeah but how about a name first?" he asked, deciding that if he was going to talk with the guy it'd be good to know his name first.

"My name's Nick Fury and I'm the man in charge of this ship," Nick replied professionally. "I head a multi-national law enforcement agency called SHIELD and you're on board my mobile HQ."

"Nice to meet you, Mister Fury," he said, almost extending a hand for a handshake before remembering the lack of control he had over his strength. "I'd shake your hand if I wasn't worried about breaking it accidentally."

"Good, because I'd prefer to keep this hand just like it is," Nick said, a casual grin on his face. "The eggheads down in cybernetics are painfully thorough in making sure all the nerve-to-circuit connections are perfect."

That comment caused his mind to stall for a moment as his mind imagined sitting down in some chair while some guy in a lab coat used a high tech soldering gun or something to connect a mechanical hand to his wrist.

Not pleasant imagery at all.

"Sounds painful," he said before deciding to move matters along to something a little more important.

"It is especially since they can't numb the pain completely. They need some input from you to make sure all the connections are right," Director Fury said, sounding like he'd seen the procedure done on someone else.

"Here's hoping that never happens to me, then," he said automatically, no particularly looking forward to the idea of getting a robot hand or a robot anything.

"Based on what Doctor Robertson's tests show, I don't think you'll have to worry about that," Fury said, not holding anything back. "According to him, with the sunlight you got hit with earlier, it'd take explosives to hurt you now and that means no blade on the planet can cut you."

"What sort of tests are we talking about here?" he asked, deciding to just dive feet first into the less than pleasant topics that needed hashing out.

"Most of the invasive tests had already been done by Hydra by the time we raided the place they were holding you in. After you got handed over to Robertson, most of the testing focused on getting the details your former caretakers couldn't be bothered to get but the rest was focused on your ability to absorb solar radiation," Nick replied without hesitation and with all due honesty. "Most of the Security Council's concerns were satisfied by the medical work up done by Hydra but when your skin became decidedly harder to pierce with a needle after exposure to sunlight, they got concerned."

"So that's where some of the pain I've had to deal with has come from." He said, remembering some of his more painful moments.

"Not really. Some pain was simulated to maintain the realism of the simulation but any time we needed more blood for tests or to give you an injection, we timed it with one of your hospital visits." Fury looked around the rest of the room, "Most of the work we did was to try and undo the mental conditioning. No one wanted you to come out of that tube pissed off and looking to do some damage before signing up with Hydra."

"Yeeeaahhh…about that… Did you really have to keep my home life so shitty after you took me from those Hydra guys?" he asked, knowing that there were probably better questions but not particularly caring. "I mean couldn't you have had 'Tony' and 'Jessica' clean up their acts a little?"

"I put forth the recommendation to have them gradually get better after you were put in Doctor Robertson's care in order to make it more real and to keep you from figuring out the truth. However the members of the Security Council felt that it might be a good thing if you didn't patch things up with your 'parents'," Director Fury replied, turning his head a bit. "They were concerned that there might be actual Hydra agents that looked like Tony and Jessica Harris out there and didn't want to take the chance that they might pop up and influence you."

"Harsh but logical, I guess," he said, the small, objective part of his mind seeing the logic of it all.

"It's a harsh world; a harsh world that it's my duty and the duty of the Council to do whatever it takes to keep the blue ball spinning. Sometimes we come out of a situation as heroes and other times… other times we're lucky if we can start sleeping soundly after a month with some problems," Nick said, sounding like he was remembering a few of the more 'memorable' moments of his past.

That put him into a thinking mood as he tried to think of what sort of missions Fury and his bunch usually had to do and what they'd had to do in order to put a 'mission accomplished' stamp on that particular file. Unlike… Buffy, he didn't view the world through rose-tinted glasses, but rather he accepted that the world wasn't always a nice place to live on. Considering some of the crazies out there and what he had left from his soldier possession, he felt it was probably a good bet that Fury had been forced to use the tactics of the enemy against them from time to time. Imagining himself using some of the same sick moves that Angelus or Spike liked to use, or even the First, even if it was to defeat them or some other threat… he knew he'd have trouble sleeping.

"I did what I could, where I could, to make sure that the life that you lived wouldn't be too harsh. So did Doctor Robertson, I suspect. Still, final say on drastic changes to the Sunnydale script needed to be approved by the Council before it could be enacted," Fury said, keeping his emotions out of his voice for the most part.

"I take it they're complete bastards that just love armchair quarterbacking and have no real firsthand experience dealing with the things you do on a weekly basis?" he asked, with his own opinion being that Travers and the old Watcher's Council must've been based on Fury's Security Council.

"Pretty much, but as much as I'd like to tell them where they can stick their United Nations authority, they control S.H.I.E.L.D's funding and it's completely within their power to fire me and replace me with someone more likely to kiss their asses." Director Fury conveyed the sincerity of his words with emotion, "Seeing as how I don't trust a 'yes man' to be able to keep this world in one piece, I work with them where I can and stand up to them when I have to. Fortunately I was able to convince them that the current situation required that I get every resource available ready to hold the line, otherwise you'd still be in the tube."

The tube.

The place where he'd apparently lived out his life stuck in a dream world scripted by terrorists, soldiers and politicians.

The only home he'd ever known.

"You really think this Loki guy can bring an army to Earth? That he even HAS an army?" he asked, trying to find something to grab onto amidst all the changes.

"Do you really think we can afford not to take his threat seriously?" Nick asked with a look in his eye that made it clear he didn't think so. "Best case scenario, we have you in place and nothing happens. Maybe a handful of aliens Loki managed to get together, thinking it'd be enough to conquer Earth. You and the rest of the Avengers kick their asses and everything's good again. Worst case scenario is that Loki does have an army at his back and we're looking at the toughest fight this world has ever known. We could use your help."

As much as he'd like to deny it, the guy had a point. Better to have your defenses ready and nothing happen then to be caught with your pants down and lose everything.

Still, the question remained: should he help them fight off this invasion, assuming it happened?

His gut instincts automatically went to 'yes', since it was in his nature to fight the good fight, but then he realized certain things about the situation. He had no idea how to hold back an invasion and, if all the time since he 'woke up' was any hint, he had abilities he'd never had before. He had no idea how strong he was, no idea how fast he was and definitely didn't know what other secrets could be lurking within his body. He didn't need to be a super brain like Willow or a soldier like Fury obviously was to know that going into battle without that kind of information could make him just as much a liability as a help.

"Can I take some time to think about it? More time, I mean?" he asked, hoping that enough time thinking things through would help him to make a decision.

"Sure. Just don't wait too long, though," Director Fury replied as he got to his feet. "We might not know when this invasion is going to go down but I'm betting it'll happen sooner rather than later."

With that the man left him to his own thoughts in the cargo room and, as he looked down at the mangled metal remains of the door handle, he knew he had a lot to think about.

_**The Helicarrier, After the Arrival of the Team from Stuttgart, Germany**_

_**Loki's POV**_

Pathetic.

That was the only word he could think of to describe the little primates that thought themselves warriors as they escorted him to his prison cell. It had been amusing to see his brother fight the armored human known as Iron Man because, if one did the other serious harm or if luck chose to favor him and one of them died, it would only aid him in his efforts. The foolish little mortal no doubt believed himself Thor's equal, given how well the metal clad man fared, but of course as someone who'd seen the Thunderer fight, he knew better. Even as angry as the son of Odin was, Thor was holding back against his foe, especially where the bolt of lightning his step-brother had called down was concerned. After all, if such an attack could pierce cave troll armor in a single blow, no human crafted metal would be able to withstand it.

Nevertheless, it had been amusing to watch.

Now, though, it was time for him to plant the seeds for the next phase in his plan and, thankfully, the fools that would oppose him had already taken the Chitauri Scepter to be analyzed by the beast that thought it was still a man. None would suspect that that was precisely what he wanted until he was ready for them to know the truth and, by then, his thrall Barton would be in position. As he turned the corner with his 'guards', he saw both the lab and the mortal shell the beast wore to disguise its true nature. Like all animals, the fool lifted his gaze from his work when he detected movement and, when their eyes met, he cast an invisible spell that none unfamiliar with Asgardian magic would be able to detect. It was subtle and would require close proximity to the scepter but, when the flying fortress once more felt the light of the sun on its decks, all it would take would be a light push to tear away the façade of civility the beast wore.

Then the second act would begin in earnest.

He smiled as he imagined the chaos that would be unleashed as his enemies scrambled to stop him, not knowing that they were playing into his hands with every move they made. He almost felt like giving them a little help by handicapping himself a bit but dismissed this notion since he doubted anything short of the armies of Asgard coming to the Earth's aid would cause him difficulty. That, however, was beyond the old man's abilities with the Bifrost destroyed and it had likely taken a considerable amount of power on Odin's part just to teleport Thor. To teleport an entire army to Earth would be completely impossible for his adoptive father.

Only when the Bifrost was somehow restored would such a thing be possible but that would take a hundred years at the very least, far too late to save the Earth from the Chitauri army that he would soon command.

As he turned the next corner, though, he saw a young man walking in the opposite direction and, at first, he paid the boy no mind, dismissing him as just another human. However it was as he came within two feet of the young man that his arcane senses revealed a secret that almost caused him to drop his visage of confidence. The young man wasn't human at all and, unless he was very much mistaken, there was the potential for much power in the lad. At the moment all that was there was what one would expect from the average Asgardian but, to his eyes, the pathways to even greater power were there waiting to be utilized.

This was an unforeseen wrinkle in his plan but not one he was going to worry over just yet.

Since his defeat at the hands of Thor in Asgard, he had used his talents to gather information on the residents of Earth that the so-called super spymaster would gather to oppose him. It was easy, given how often these so-called spies chattered amongst each other about what was going on elsewhere, but apparently there were some things that even humans knew to keep secret. He knew not what species the boy was and, unless he was given some time to properly examine the young man, he never would. Nevertheless, he didn't believe this would thwart his plan because even the mightiest of aliens could be slain if drowned beneath countless waves of superior numbers.

_Still, if the boy survives the invasion, I'll take joy in peeling the secrets away strip by bloody strip,_ he thought as a massive door slid away to reveal a circular chamber. _Until then, I will enjoy playing with them from within the beast's prepared room._

Stepping inside, he turned around and watched Nicholas Fury operate the controls to close the door with an audible click before waiting for the cue for his prepared lines.

"In case it's unclear, you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass…" Fury said as he typed a command into the machine before him, causing the metal beneath the chamber to retract, "Thirty thousand feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works? Ant. Boot." Then with another command the metal slid back into place beneath his cell.

It was a child's attempt at intimidation and one that concerned him not in the least.

"It's an impressive cage," he laughed mockingly as he stepped back to the center of the chamber. "Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you," the one eyed man said with belief in every word.

"Oh, I've heard. The mindless beast that pretends he's still a man," he said, knowing that the so-called heroes were watching the conversation. "How desperate are you? You call on such lost creatures to defend you."

"How desperate am I?" Fury asked threateningly. "You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can't hope to control, you talk about peace and you kill 'cause it's fun. You have made me VERY desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

"Ooohh! It burns you to have come so close," he said with no respect in his voice. "To have the tesseract. To have power, limitless power, and for what? A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is."

To his words the mortal's lips only curled slightly into a sneer before the mortal man turned and walked away from him.

"Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something." Fury said as he walked through the door they'd both entered through before it slid shut locking itself automatically.

_A fair try,_ he thought, commenting on the mortal's efforts to remain unruffled. _For a mortal, that is._

Sitting down on the bench opposite the door to his chamber, he let his eyes gaze forward even as he tapped into his arcane talents to extend his awareness outwards. While he physically might not be able to do anything, mentally was another matter altogether and he found investigating the new alien on the game board to be a good way to spend the time between now and his second Act. He would peer into the minds of those aboard this ship to see what they knew, he would trace the information back to the mortal that knew the most and then he would know all he needed to in order to convert or destroy.

He wondered how amusing it would be should he succeed in turning an enemy into an ally that would tear Fury's champions into bloody pieces.

He liked what his mind came up with.


End file.
